A/N - Practically An Avenger, I'm so tickled that you're enjoying this one. Hopefully this chapter makes the wait worthwhile.

Chapter 35 - The Art Of Flirting

"I was right," Kate sang out as she skipped behind Nate, then slid into the seat next to him in study hall. "Just got the text from Billy. Your brother is at least curious about the adorable and fun twin."

"Not super surprised," Nate said, doing his best to keep his reaction low and lying through his teeth. "Scientific and all that. Has to check all the possibilities … including the modifier that the fun twin might be evil."

"No way!" Kate laughed. "Billy said he was maybe a one - though I upped it to two just for family affiliation. Two. Out of ten. Not evil."

He has the same powerset as his mother, Nate projected to her. Potential fifteen, easy.

The scale is only up to ten.

You're underestimating Magento's family, Nate countered, grinning at her before he leaned in and stole a kiss. "You're cute when you're wrong," he said.

"Pretty sure we just established that I'm right," Kate replied, though she kissed him right back.

"Yeah, the thing with my brother just proves me right - power and danger magnet that he is." Nate pulled her closer until she was practically in his lap. "But I really don't want to talk about my brother and whoever he's seeing or not seeing." He kissed her again. "Do you really want to talk about someone else right now?" Because I know I'd rather keep my focus on you instead.

"That's really not a fair question," Kate replied. And when they got a few glares from the teacher who was supposed to be keeping the peace at study hall, Kate smiled sweetly and then switched to totally psychic - in a full-on makeout with Nate in their heads.

The boys still had a whole two weeks to kill before they finally could go on their date, and by the time they met up, James was nervous. Not just about the fact that Billy was from a massively powerful family, or the fact that ticking them off could have widespread consequences. It was a lot more simple than that. He just wasn't sure what was supposed to happen with this date. Already, everything about it felt different.

Were their expectations the same? What was a first date like for Billy versus how James' first dates ran? He didn't know how much Billy got away with wearing a friggin' crown on Genosha, but he knew what he got away with. So he was a little concerned that a slower approach might be a deal breaker for the little prince.

And he'd spent the past two weeks trying to anticipate how he'd react to Billy if they hit it off in person and how to move forward or stop things if they didn't hit it off. It was a daunting prospect. But there was a bigger draw than there was apprehension. Which was how James found himself driving out to Westchester.

He was supremely glad that Billy was waiting with a few new friends when he got there, though they cleared out fast enough and the two of them slipped outside before anyone on the staff could stick their noses in.

"So, there aren't a lot of places we can go and talk openly," James said after they'd stepped outside. He'd planned to pick BIlly up and head out, but on the way to Westchester, James decided it might be smarter to let Billy decide the where, since he'd handled the rest of it. Even if he wasn't familiar with the area, he had his own ways to travel, after all. "So… did you have a place in mind for this picnic, or am I driving somewhere?"

"Right. Hard to talk about ourselves if we need to keep family details secret," Billy said, nodding, but that got James to smile a little more crookedly.

"I keep forgetting that you grew up in a sweet little bubble that nurtured you for who you are," James teased. "It's not just the mutant thing we need to be careful about."

Billy frowned - honestly unaware of what James could have meant by that - and when James realized that the little prince of Genosha had no idea what he was talking about, he smiled tightly and decided to just pull the bandage off.

"NYC may be pretty open-minded in some aspects, but this is small town, USA," James said gently. "There's an attitude over same-sex couples. In some areas of the city, too, if I'm honest."

Billy blinked at him a few times. "How bad is that here?"

James hedged as he weighed his answer. "I know a guy at S.I. that went on a blind date not long ago. It ended up being a setup to beat the hell out of a gay guy. It's an issue. They put him in the hospital."

"What … is even wrong with everyone here?" Billy asked in a clearly outraged and shell-shocked tone.

"I don't even know where to begin," James said. "But it doesn't matter right now. Not really. Not when the answer to my question ends with some alone time so we can see if there's a decent spark. Stay on track, little prince. Unless that's too much to ask … and if that's the case, this is a waste of time."

Billy paused. "If this is your way of saying you're backing out-"

"Nope," James said. "This is my way of saying even I'm used to keeping my date's attention. So - where are we going? I've got the food - you pick the place."

Billy rubbed the back of his neck, still looking like he was caught between wanting to have fun on the date and being frustrated by how stupid people were on the mainland. Finally, he said, "What about a picnic on the roof? Avengers Tower or here in Westchester; you can pick. I just like to see."

"If it's here, you can bet it'd probably end up being a double date with Mia and your brother. The roof is her spot. She's marked it. Repeatedly. The tower? You got a 50/50 shot of Tony being … Tony. So your call. Mia and Tommy or Tony."

"Well, what about your place?" Billy asked. "Kate said you guys have a place in her dad's building. Can we steal their roof?"

James did well to stop short of frowning as he nodded slowly. He knew the rule was not to let just anyone know where the Summers family lived, but seeing as the brownstone in Bed-Stuy wasn't - and hadn't - been their full-time home in a number of years, James nodded. It was a loophole he wasn't afraid of exploiting. "Sure. We can give it a try."

Billy grinned. "I can magically lock the doors, you know."

"You think that would stop Aunt Tasha?" James laughed. "Or Dad for that matter?"

"True," Billy said. "But let's try it anyhow. It's just a first date. I'm not fast enough to need to lock everyone out on a first date."

"Well … I've been known to be that easy." James laughed. "But let's see how it goes before we're locking people out. I'm probably considered slow getting to know people anyhow." He stopped and tipped his head. "How … exactly does this work? Do you need the address, or …" He was nearly holding his breath as he asked, if for no reason other than Kate had done the right thing and told Billy about their apartment instead of the house … but what Billy didn't know was that it wasn't the Summers' home. It was home, once upon a time, and they did use the place now and again. But the actual Summers home was off-limits without Scott's say-so. And James knew better than to bring Billy home. Not yet. Certainly not for a first date - and definitely not so close to Magneto's hissy fit in Westchester.

"That should work," Billy said before he carefully took James' arm, and the next minute after James had told Billy where exactly they were headed, they were on the roof of Clint's apartment building - after a very specific spell to get there with all of their things. When they arrived, Billy looked around, taking in the sights as James breathed a sigh of relief on not seeing the Brooklyn Bridge from the view at the Summers' actual house. "Did I get it right?"

"Looks like," James agreed as he gestured around them. "Behold. Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Keep your wallet close and don't count on the cops showing up. Ever." He turned a little circle, gesturing to the handful of trees behind the building - which was still greener than most of Brooklyn. "Nothing special."

"That's what you think," Billy said, smiling with his hand still on James' arm. "Every skyline is different to me still, remember?"

"True, but I can think of half a dozen better skylines, so … not so special." He smirked and found his favorite spot to lean against the wall that actually overlooked the trees between the back of the building and the back of the buildings on the next street over. "So, how do your first dates usually go?"

"Ah, usually we have dinner and then go see a performance," Billy said.

"So you people watch … while you're with a new guy … huh. Constantly on the lookout for the next pretty face."

"Not really," Billy said, blushing lightly. "Some of the mutations on the island are beautiful."

"I'll bet. Kinda drives me nuts that most of the physical mutations are locked away," James said. "I'm just lucky mine's something that can be hidden most of the time."

Billy nodded. "Angel probably would have been a leading man in half the stuff our art department puts on."

"Nah, he can't remember his lines," James laughed.

Billy laughed along. "Oh, well, he can light the opening torch or something."

"He was really good at pushing me through some of the business classes Stark had me take - he insisted on it," James said. "Bored me to tears, but Warren has a good and enthusiastic grasp on that stuff."

"Huh." Billy shook his head. "I'm not signed up for anything like that. But I am taking human-mutant relations. Which is weird, since I didn't have to even deal with humans growing up."

"Right. No puny humans. How's that going? Are you failing?" James asked with a grin. "Real tough for you, I'll bet. Just for how stupid it is."

"No, I'm not failing, but there is a learning curve. I guess I didn't expect all the rules of engagement," Billy said in a sigh. "All I grew up knowing was that humanity was out here, and that was about it. I think Grandfather would eventually have shown us more, because I'd need to know to run Genosha and negotiate for us, but…" He spread his hands wide. "It's all very new."

"Sounds frustrating," James agreed. "I know we have a stilted view of the logistics even compared to 'normal'. Bigger implications if we break the 'rules'." He sighed heavily at that. "I get it. I'm just … I don't know what to do with it. Take the Izzy thing for example. Dad was sure to make it clear that we have to think six steps ahead for stupid things like that, even when it isn't a matter of someone related to Emma and Whitney Frost. See … I can't just say no, because she won't listen - and if I run with it, the boyfriend comes to fight later, and then it's either I take a beating for no reason or face the questions of 'how do you know how to fight like that' and 'why aren't you bruised or bleeding?'" James ran his hand through his hair. "So … I politely ask her to stop and then usually just … tolerate it if she doesn't listen and keeps pushing. She usually gets bored before the game is over."

Billy pulled a face. "And all I worried about back home was whether people were talking to me for me or for my title."

"For our family, that's just the tip of a very nasty iceberg. I have all kinds of things to concern myself with as far as why people are talking to me. How long did Mia wait before she told you we were using a fake name?" James asked, settling in a little better.

"Not very," Billy admitted. "She didn't want me to accidentally call you the wrong thing and blow your cover."

"Kinda figured," he said.

"She was also pretty adamant about not using our powers. She showed me how the inducers work, too. It's crazy the lengths you have to go to here."

"Yeah, that's a big one for her especially, though I have to use one when I'm going in and out of the tower," James agreed. "Glad mine are passive. Don't have to do anything, really. Except, you know, not react to some sensory stuff and keep my temper under control so I don't do something to get myself hurt."

"Tommy's bored out of his mind," Billy admitted. "He's used to doing everything at his speed."

"Poor Tommy," James laughed. "Has to let someone else set the pace."

"He's dying, I've been reliably informed."

"As long as he doesn't try to push Mia, I'll feel sorry for him."

"Yeah, well…" Billy let out a sigh. "We'll see. He's not patient."

"I noticed."

"Mom and Dad rein him in," Billy promised quickly. "Most of the time."

"Storm can handle him. She can handle just about anyone."

"Yeah, that's what Mom's worried about," Billy said with a quiet laugh.

"She'll just zap him a little," James said with a grin. "I guess that makes you the more reasonable one, then?"

"Theoretically," Billy said, a troublemaking smile spreading over his features. "Or just less high-maintenance."

"Okay, not what he says, but sure …"

"Yeah, he would say I'm harder to deal with," Billy said, rolling his eyes.

"So … as entertaining as your brother is, I don't really want to hear about him. Tell me about you."

Billy flushed. "Sorry. I guess I'm not good at this part either. Most people already know the basics, and I just… build from there."

"I didn't have your floating grandfather to make me memorize your life story. So you're gonna have to tell me your unofficial version from your point of view."

Billy chuckled and then leaned back on his elbows. "I guess… I could start at the beginning? Mom wished me and Tommy into being, so we've always… stood out."

"Not gonna lie: that's kind of cool," James said.

"I think so too," Billy said with a smirk. "And then growing up on the island, Aunt Lorna doted on us, and so did Uncle Alex, of course…"

"She dotes on everyone," James pointed out. "And Alex tries so hard to be the cool uncle."

"Yeah, they're like that." Billy shrugged. "But then when Grandfather realized Tommy acted like Pietro in addition to looking like him, he accused Mom of wishing that part too and… I think that's when I realized I was his favorite."

"What's wrong with being like your uncle? Your brother's hilarious."

"Yeah, but Grandfather never got along with Pietro as well as he did Mom and Lorna," Billy admitted.

James gasped dramatically. "That doesn't seem possible."

"Oh, shut up," Billy said, though he was smirking. "The point is: Tommy figured out pretty quick that Grandfather only wanted him around when he was feeling nostalgic, so… I spent a lot of time at the palace filling in for both of us."

"Yeah, that's pretty crappy," James agreed. "At least all I get is how much I look like Logan. And occasional vague references now and again."

Billy nodded. "Mom was pretty struck by the resemblance," he admitted. "She used to come to the mainland - she was an Avenger and an X-Man, you know? But after everyone died, she said it was too hard to watch."

"I was too small to remember," James said. "So I only grew up on the stories, and the cautionary tales, but it's been just us and Dad for almost everything." He drifted off for a moment, thinking it over. There were times where Natasha had stepped in … or Tony. And he didn't think Billy would appreciate hearing how he'd been with Kitty and Bobby until they wanted him to go to Genosha - and he freaked out. But most of the hand-offs that James could remember had centered around when James had been sick or some of the weapons groups had caught up to them and they were forced to leave James with the medical help he needed while they tucked away someplace secure. It had never lasted long, of course. But there was a reason James looked at Tony and Steve more like uncles than his brother and sister did.

"We got stories from Mom, Dad, Alex, Lorna… even some people on the island who used to be X-Men or who were rescued by them and came to the island to feel safe after the attack on the school," Billy said.

"I'll bet there were a few of those," James said. "We lived in the woods for a while. I loved it there. Dad said it used to be Logan's place."

Billy smiled. "I think that would be fun. I like what I've seen so far of the woods near the school."

"The woods by the school are pretty tame." James shook his head. "We can't go back to that cabin, though. Which kind of sucks. I had a wolf pack that was friendly there, but-"

Billy's eyes were wide. "You had a what?"

"Timberwolves," James said as if it was a perfectly reasonable answer. "They were friendly. They let me pet them, and they liked to kind of hang around the place." He tipped his head and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to those woods that he'd loved. "We had deer that would come up to the front door, too."

"Holy… wow."

James raised an eyebrow at that. "You're only saying that because Magneto Island doesn't have deer. Or wolves. And the city just has rats the size of small dogs and pigeons that are completely rabid."

"I think I heard a lion once?" Billy said, then winced. "Yeah, I don't… hey, on the other hand, I've been shark diving! Dad took me."

"That sounds like fun," James said. "Did you pet one?"

"Yeah, no. When the cage is designed by Vision, you can't touch them, and they can't touch you? But it's still pretty cool."

James nodded along for a moment. "I'd want to pet one. If I get that close, I wanna touch it."

Billy chuckled. "I feel like I should be surprised. But I'm not."

"You had to have thought it too," James said. "Even if you wouldn't do it - you thought it."

"Particularly about the hammerheads," Billy admitted.

"Tigersharks. Or Great Whites," James countered with a grin. "I want to know if the white part feels different than the gray."

"Of course you do," Billy laughed.

The two of them chatted for a long while, nibbling on their picnic and sharing stories as they got to know each other better - and got more comfortable. James was partly through the story on how they'd ended up living out of the woods when he paused and tipped his head to the side, watching the door.

"Clint," James said. "He's probably planning to give you a hard time. Sorry, in advance."

"No one knew we were coming here," Billy pointed out.

"No, but this building has better security than pretty much anywhere but Avengers Tower," James said. "Aunt Tasha knew the instant we showed up. Only reason it didn't set off the system to battle stations was because I'm with you." He shrugged one shoulder up. "DNA scanners."

Billy still couldn't hear anyone approaching, but just before the door opened, James told him quietly "If he gets to be too much, just get us out of here. I don't want this to end early because he has boundary issues." Which, of course, had Billy quietly smiling to himself.

Clint stepped through the door and paused, his expression somewhere between troublemaking and aloof - though that was pretty normal when he was ready to get after one of 'his' kids dates. "I thought maybe I was misinformed, but no," Clint said.

James glanced at Billy but didn't say anything, waiting to see which direction Clint was going.

Clint, for his part, was doing his best to look disapproving and angry until he simply couldn't hold back his grin. "You just had to find someone Nat couldn't do a full background check on. You're driving her nuts, you know that?"

"Figured she didn't need to do a full background check on an ex-teammate's kid," James countered. "Two ex-teammates, technically."

"You'll be lucky if she doesn't come up and interrogate him," Clint said.

"See … but now I want her to," James said with a crooked smile. "Where's the line she won't cross? I know she doesn't want to tick off the Scarlet Witch. So …"

"Don't kid yourself," Clint said. "She's not afraid of Wanda."

"If you say so," James said airly, turning his head away from both Clint and Billy with a serene look that he couldn't possibly know was straight out of his mother's handbook. But it was enough to get Clint to crack a smile.

"But that's not why I'm here now," Clint said as he crossed his arms.

"Here we go," James said under his breath, his chin tipped down to his chest and his fingers entwined in his lap where he sat against the short wall.

Clint smirked crookedly for a moment but pushed forward. All of the kids had been subjected to this at one point or another, and he'd really enjoyed watching little May Parker squirm when he gave her a run down. This was cheap entertainment. "Normally I'd ask if you had a criminal record or what you're expecting out of my kid. Turns out it's hard to be criminally liable for anything when you're considered royalty." He smiled a little wider. "And since my lovely wife couldn't do a real run down on you, I went ahead and called your mom. Had a lovely chat. Made it easy to skip the big questions when I already know the answers."

"You could have asked me," Billy said, blushing lightly. "I would have answered."

"Yeah, but I'd rather you answered the stuff no one wants to," Clint said with a wave. "I already know what the plans are for you when you're older and what you do in your spare time. Wanda even told me what your powerset it. Seems she thought we should know what kind of trouble you get into. So …"

The two boys shared a look, but James had nothing he could do to help as Clint continued. "So. What's the big plan tonight? You just playing the 'G' rated 20 questions or are you going right to the adult version."

"Uncle Hawk," James said flatly. "Come on."

"It's a valid question," Clint said, then turned his attention on James. "What made you decide to go out with this guy anyhow?"

"Who's getting interrogated here?" James asked.

"See … the fact that you don't know means I'm doing it right," Clint said, the crooked smile creeping back into place. "Nat'll be proud." He pointed at James. "Answer the question."

James blew out a breath, but by the expression Billy was wearing, this was the kind of question he needed to answer. "He's fun," James said. "And we hit it off. We've been texting since they got here, and I like him. Figured I'd give him a shot if he was game."

"Alright," Clint said, nodding. "Who made the first move?"

"That would be me," Billy said, raising his hand. "Hi. Nothing nefarious going on. Promise."

"Do I need to have the consent talk again?" Clint said, going back to serious.

James frowned and looked between Clint and Billy for a moment. "Only if it applies to people asking questions they don't need to ask because this is a little aggressive as far as first date stuff."

"Nah. I have the same chat with all my kids' prospective suitors." He stopped and watched both boys. "Unless you're not serious."

"It's a first date," James said. "Leave us alone for a while and we might be able to form an opinion."

"Answer like that makes me want to get comfy."

James turned to Billy with a significant look. "Your call. But I'm good to go. He's not going to be any better the more he sticks around."

Billy nodded. "Okay. Yeah, just ... " He reached over to take a hold of James' arm and started chanting under his breath. They were there just long enough for Clint to realize what was going on before they disappeared without a trace, leaving Clint on the roof.

When the two of them popped back into existence - it was once again in the woods, but it took James a few moments to reorient himself - only to reach out and pull Billy to a stop before they could walk any further. "We're … a few miles from the school - which I'm fine with if you don't mind walking for a while." He smiled crookedly. "Guess we'll need to find a way to make that one more specific, huh? Westchester is the town, after all."

Billy let out a self conscious sort of laugh, and shrugged. "I did say it wasn't an exact science."

"You did," James agreed as he pointed them the right way. "You also said you had to want something to make it happen too. So maybe this is what you really wanted. Deeper woods ... not to be interrupted."

"Did you want to rush back?" Billy asked, trying to check on how James felt about how the date had gone.

"No," he replied, shaking his head slowly. "I'm fine going through the woods if you are. And nothing will bother you. In case you were nervous."

The two of them walked on in comfortable silence as the sounds of the forest picked up around them. It was dark, after all - and though summer was well past, there were plenty of creatures and birds still in the trees to make up for the lack of crickets and other cheerful insects. But there was no trail, so Billy found himself getting a little crash course in traversing the woods off the beaten path by the light of a full moon. He was doing remarkably well, too, until he made a small misstep. The rocks underfoot were slippery, and Billy lost his footing. Before he could hit the soft dirt, however, James caught him.

"I'm not holding up my end of this deal very well," James said as Billy brushed himself off of imaginary debris, trying to regain his composure and hoping that James didn't see the blush he was wearing in the low light. Before Billy could react, James reached over to take his hand. "Stay close this time, huh?"

"Good idea," Billy agreed, smiling to himself.

The two of them headed through the woods, hand in hand and side by side until the path became too narrow, then James simply shifted his grip on Billy's hand and stepped forward to test the rocks on the slippery downhill slope before Billy could. For no other reason than it was easier for James to see. Which was all fine and good until at the bottom of the slope, James lost his footing in the slippery clay only for Billy to catch him and the two of them to end up on the ground, though they were both laughing about it.

"Are you okay?" James asked with a grin, half tangled up from the fall and on his side as he faced Billy.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, shocked at the ridiculousness of it and smiling himself.

"I'll be docked for bad guiding," James laughed before they could even begin to untangle from each other. "Sorry 'bout your luck, little prince."

Billy frowned at that, though the smile didn't slip all the way. "What do you mean by that? I think my luck has been pretty good."

"Well … we started out alright, I think? Halfway in the sky on top of the building, and now? You're in the dirt. Kind of a spectacularly rotten turn, don't you think?" James pushed himself halfway upright, but that only got him just a little closer, which made it that much easier for Billy to be a little spontaneous.

Before James could untangle, Billy reached out and rested a hand on the side of James' neck and leaned forward to steal a kiss. And while it wasn't something James had exactly expected, to his credit, it didn't take him long to respond. The two of them paused long enough to lock gazes before James leaned in for a more extended kiss. The first quick kiss turned into another longer, more involved one and by the time they stopped a while later, both of them were out of breath, more tangled up, and wearing a fair amount of smeared mud and crushed leaves from their fall down the last few steps of the hill.

"See?" Billy said after a moment. "Nothing wrong with my luck."

James let out a breath of a laugh as he broke into a brilliant smile. "Does that mean you want to do this again? Not - the whole falling into the dirt thing necessarily, but date two?"

"Ah, yeah," Billy laughed then started one more kiss before the two of them finally untangled from each other. James was on his feet first, and he pulled Billy up with him, then tried to brush off some of the forest that stuck to him before once again, he offered Billy his hand and they took their time heading back, enjoying the walk more now that the tension was broken.

When the boys finally parted company for the evening, Billy was in a great mood as he headed back into the school, where his brother was waiting for him. "So," Tommy said. "How did hunting the hunter go?"

"You're a horrible brother," Billy said, shaking his head as he checked his texts, grinning to himself.

"But … does that mean it went well, or that you need to consider that guy that was watching you in human-mutant relations, because if I'm being honest - I don't like the guy in class at all. At least the young Wolverine is funny."

"Hey, did you get a solid answer from Storm on when you're allowed alone with Mia again?" Billy asked, which only had Tommy throwing a pillow at him.

Kate had been bouncing on the balls of her feet after she'd gotten home from her date. She'd heard from her Dad how the near-interrogation went - and how the boys had disappeared to avoid dealing with the rest of Clint's questioning. Which, she thought, was a pretty slick way to handle it. For a little while anyhow.

Her mom was a little irked at how easily Billy got them gone with no clue as to where, even with Clint promising her that Wanda swore that Billy was a good kid. But considering that no one had heard from them since they disappeared off the rooftop, Kate was waiting as patiently as she was able with her cell phone in her hand expecting the text to come through.

She'd already sent two … okay. Maybe more than two, but the point wasn't numbers. It was content. And she needed to know how it had went. Now! She was excited and hopeful for both Billy and James's' behalf, nervous for Nate - even if he thought he was hiding how anxious he was over James' new sweetheart. Oh, she really hoped that they hit it off. They were so cute together, after all. And Billy really did want to take a shot.

It was getting late - though not yet to the Summers' boys' curfew when she finally got a text back from Billy.

So I just got back, Billy wrote. The three dots danced and stopped. Danced and stopped again, and as Kate was drafting up a tease, Billy replied. I kissed him. There was a lot of kissing. Don't worry though. I'm going to be a gentleman and try to keep it to myself.

Good. I really don't want to hear details on how my Superior Summers' brother kisses. No thanks.

But now I want to tell you …

Kate giggled to herself and settled in, already asking for how the non-kissing section of their date had gone, not that she had to when Billy was already gushing.